Sports

Bishop Union Takes 4 games from Mineral County

by Arnie Palu

Bishop Union High School enjoyed the home court advantage Tuesday night sweeping Mineral County High School. Bishop Union basketball won four games and now digs in for final exams. The Bronco student athletes have finals this week and enjoy a Christmas break that will run from Monday December 21st through January 1st. Classes resume on Monday, January 4th. That break will be interrupted by the Christmas Classic basketball tournament (December 28-30) for the boys and girls home games with Strathmore (December 29th).

Coaches Comments, “This victory was a real team win with everyone on the team participating and scoring! I am so proud of my team’s focus and determination with this long stretch of games we just completed. We continue to grow as a club and I can’t wait to see what is yet to come continuing to build this camaraderie.” Coach Tara Auld

Coaches Comments, “Good win tonight over a skilled Hawthorne team. Everyone gave great effort and battled back from a first quarter deficit 8-4, and we were down 23-21 at half. We out scored Mineral County in the 3rd quarter 26-12, taking the lead by 11. Lost the 4th quarter 9-6.” Coach Steve Omohundro

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Lone Pine Golden Eagle Football Awards

by Arnie Palu

The Lone Pine High School Golden Eagles football team placed five student athletes on the Hi-Lo League first team and senior Doug Moore made All-CIF. Coach Jone Kane’s Lone Pine Football team finished 2015 with a 6-3 record.

Senior running-back and linebacker Doug Moore was named to the All-CIF eight man football team by the Eight-Man football Coaches Association. Coach Kane notes that Moore rushed for over 1,000 yards, scored 15 touchdowns, and was also the team leader in total tackles. Moore is joined on the All-CIF team by a pair of Hi-Lo league rivals, Trona’s Gunnar Cartmell and Malik Evans, both juniors.

Moore leads a group of five Golden Eagles who were named to the Hi-Lo League first team. In addition to Moore, seniors Kyler Francone (linebacker/tightend) and Eddy Ivey (offensive/defensive line) were named to the first team. Junior receiver Adrian Gonzales and sophomore quarterback Dylan Noland earned 1st team honors.

Bishop Bronco Wrestling

Submitted by assistant coach Dr. Mark Hodges

Saturday, December 12th, two members of the Bishop Bronco Wrestling team competed in a tournament at Lancaster High School. The Broncos attending were the Mayhugh brothers:
Junior Joseph Mayhugh at 160 lbs
Freshman Mark Mayhugh at 106 lbs

In his first match, freshman Mark Mayhugh started strong by defeating his opponent in a 14-1 major decision. Although he wrestled hard, he ended up losing his next two matches, one against the #2 seeded wrestler in the tournament.

Junior Joseph Mayhugh started the tournament against a wrestler who beat him in last week’s tournament. Joe moved well on his feet, was aggressive, but was caught in a throw and pinned. During the match, he reinjured his knee, so had to call it a day.

Coach Joseph said, “It wasn’t our best day. We are concerned about Joe’s health and although Mark continues to improve, he really needs a partner close to his weight in the wrestling room.”

The Bronco with the best record this season is freshman Mark Mayhugh with a record of 4-4 with 3 wins by pin.

The Broncos next action will be in January at Millikan High School in Long Beach.

Bishop Union Basketball takes 2nd and 5th at Weekend Tournaments

by Arnie Palu
December 14

Bishop Union Bronco Basketball played weekend tournaments in the central valley this past weekend. The Bronco boys finished as runners up in the Corcoran Tournament while the Bronco girls finished in 5th place in the George Glover Memorial Tournament held in Strathmore.

Boys Basketball
Bishop Union High School’s boys basketball team lost in the small-school championship game of the Corcoran tournament. The Broncos fell to rival Kern Valley in the championship game, 65-53. Bishop Union will get two more chances with Kern Valley during High Desert League play.
The Broncos opened the tournament with a 68-50 win over Corcoran. Bishop Union then downed Farmersville 70-61 with Andrew Allen leading the way with 18 points. The wins over Corcoran and Farmersville placed Bishop Union in the small schools championship game with Kern Valley.

Bishop Union High School Girls Basketball
The Bronco varsity Girls were on the road to Strathmore this weekend. Strathmore is located just to the south-east of Visaila. Bishop Union’s girls finished 2-1 in the George Glover Memorial Basketball Tournament bringing home 5th place. Maria Jimenez was named to the All-Tournament team.

Bishop Union High School basketball will play host to Mineral County High School Tuesday (December 15th). JV girls and boys at 3pm and 4:30 with the varsity girls and boys to follow at 6pm and 7:30 in Gus Klekas Gymnasium.
AM 1230 KBOV will broadcast the varsity boys High Desert League games starting with Rosamond on Friday, January 15th.

Broncos Volleyball Awards Banquet

submitted by Coach Steve Park

The Broncos volleyball team and families met on Monday, December 7th to celebrate a successful season. While both the varsity and JV teams were young, varsity finished 2nd in league and were extremely competitive in the first round of CIF Playoffs. JV finished with a 5-3 record and showed great potential for future varsity teams.

The following varsity players received High Desert League (HDL) honors.
Of the 7 players selected for first team in the league, an impressive three were Broncos.
First Team All League: Maria Jimenez, Rachel Turner, and Kiara Cox
Second Team All League: Sydney Frigerio
Honorable Mention All League: Carly Todd
Academic All League: Maria Jimenez

The BP Lady Warriors held on to win the Wednesday night rematch, after defeating the Lady Eagle JV by 20 two nights earlier. Lone Pine outscored BP 17-8 in the 3rd quarter, as the Lady Warriors ran their full court press for the first time this season. The press was not effective and LP capitalized by getting many uncontested layups. Starting the 4th quarter down by 7, 30-23, the Lady Warriors went back to their regular trap defense and got back in the game.

With just 19 seconds left in the game and the Warriors up by 2, an intentional foul was called on BP. Lone Pine still had a chance to win the game after 1 free throw was made and then given the ball out of bounds. However, after several shots attempts, BP was able to secure the rebound and close out the win.

BP Coach Bob Church- “This game was exactly what I feared. We beat them two nights earlier and I knew Liz Stewart was a good coach and would work them hard, going over our trap. LP improved tremendously, were much more scrappy than earlier and hit shots they weren’t able to hit Monday night.”

“I tell the girls it’s a team game and they’re all important to the team. It certainly showed tonight, as all 8 girls scored at least one point, with each point needed in this one. I have to say that I was certainly not proud of the way we played, but I was very proud of all of our girls for not giving up, when we could have easily just packed it in. I believe our girls learned a lesson- just not a hard lesson.”

Big Pine Girl’s return to action this Friday night at 6:30 PM, as they host Le Lycee, from Los Angeles. The two teams will again play Saturday morning at 9:30. Both games will be hosted by the Lady Warriors.

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ANNUAL MHS BOOSTER CHRISTMAS TREE SALE!

submitted by the Mammoth High School Booster Club

Magnificent Christmas Trees from Oregon and Washington are now on sale in the MHS Booster Christmas Tree Lot at Vons (Minaret Village Mall).

This is the major Mammoth High School Booster fundraiser for the season so please consider supporting a local and worthy cause. Proceeds benefit the College Book Awards, MHS Sport Teams, ASB/NHS, Fishing, Drama and Band clubs, teacher special projects and requests, teacher appreciation luncheons, assembles and the new gym floor capital campaign.

Details…
Douglas, Noble and Grand Firs are for sale ranging in size from 4-9 feet, starting from as low as $50. Wooden tree stands and Christmas Tree lights will also be available for sale at the lot. Cash, checks, credit cards accepted.

Bishop Union takes 3 of 4 from Lone Pine

by Arnie Palu

The Lone Pine Golden Eagles varsity boys basketball team held off a Bronco outside shooting attack winning 71-57 Tuesday night. The Golden Eagle Varsity Boys victory kept Bishop Union from sweeping the series of games at Bishop’s Gus Klekas Gym. Lone Pine’s Ryan Cappello scored 11 of his game high 24 points in the Golden Eagle’s 29 point 4th quarter. Bishop was paced by junior Sean Brown who connected on seven three point baskets. The Broncos hit fourteen 3’s on the night.

Great free-throw shooting and clutch play by senior Ryan Cappello were key in Lone Pine’s 71-57 win. Cappello hit 10 of 12 from the line including 5 of 6 in the Golden Eagles big 4th quarter. Cappello had the look of a senior who would not be denied in the games final minutes. Ryan finished with a game high 25 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.
Lone Pine led 32-20 at the half, but that lead quickly evaporated as the Broncos heated up from long range. Sean Brown connected on a trio of three point shots in the third quarter giving Bishop the lead. The Broncos doubled up Lone Pine in the third, outscoring the Golden Eagles 20-10. A Brad Greene three point play with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter kept Lone Pine on top, 42-40.
In the forth quarter Bishop’s Sean Brown and Andrew Allen both hit a pair of three’s keeping Bishop close, and senior Ziggy Armitage drilled a three to tie the game at 52-52 with 5 minutes to play. But with the game on the line Lone Pine’s stars stole the show. Brad Greene, Ryan Cappello, and Garrett Sullivan saved their best for last. Sullivan completed a three-point play early in the quarter, Greene cleared the boards while scoring seven of his 23 points, and Cappello took over the game pouring in 11 points. The trio combined to connect on 9 of 10 fourth quarter free-throws.

The Bishop Union varsity girls used a strong defensive effort winning 47-15. The Bronco “D” held Lone Pine to 4 points in the 3rd quarter and shut them out in the games final 8 minutes. Senior Maria Jimenez was high point with 16.

Lone Pine Coach Clint Quilter, “While the ladies still struggled to score. They gave excellent effort the entire game. I was very proud of the fact that they reduced committed 51% fewer turnovers as compared to their first game against Paraclete ”

Bishop Union Coach Tammy Spoonhunter, “The girls did very well, they were able to stay in a tight game all the way through to the 4th quarter, then they started to attack the basket and pulled away in the 4th quarter. They never gave up. The defense was working very well and we were able to stop the eagles from scoring. Overall they played a really great game.”

40th Ken Baker Hoops Tournament this weekend

submitted by Randee Arcularius

The 40th Annual Ken Baker Basketball Tournament will be held on Saturday, December 12th at the Bishop High School Gymnasium. Tip-off is at 8:00 a.m. and a full day of exciting basketball is planned as 8 teams from Lee Vining to Lone Pine participate in this traditional junior high school tournament.

The Ken Baker Tournament began in Round Valley in 1975 and was started by then Superintendent-Principal Ken Baker. It has run continuously for 40 years. It is one of, if not the longest, established junior high tournament in California. Ken Baker and his wife Cindy are retired and living in Polo, Missouri.

Ken was recently contacted to share some of his memories from the tournament. He remembers fondly, “My favorite tournament was in 1976. One reason was probably because we won it. But mostly, it was because of the fine group of players I had on the team. We started three seventh graders, Tim Reid, Mike Fix and Jeff Russell. They were anchored by eighth graders Wayne Kilgore, Hans Bannemer, David Hayes and David Jarvis. We also had plenty of bench strength with the likes of Scott Roripaugh, Paul Lake, Clifton Howell, Mike Kobalt, Steve Forkush and Crispin Chaparro. I just loved the way these kids pulled together. They finished the season 15-0, having won the new Jr. High League championship as well. The most exciting tourney was a little later when Round Valley hooked up against a strong team out of Ridgecrest. We met them in the championship game and the Rovana gym was packed and loud for the game. The game was close and exciting all the way and was tied up with something like 7 seconds left. We had the ball out of bounds and, unfortunately, made a bad inbound pass that was intercepted and led to a lay-up for Ridgecrest as the buzzer went off. It was truly a great game by any standards.”

A tournament with this long standing and proud history could not have been sustained without the unwavering support of current and previous Round Valley administrators, teacher/coaches, and community volunteer coaches. Also vital to its success has been the strong community support with local referees, score keepers, and clock operators donating their skills and expertise. This year the Round Valley Eighth Grade class will be providing the snack bar treats as they work to earn money for their annual Catalina trip.
As the 40th Annual tournament approaches, many community members are remembering the times that they played in this exciting tournament and are now watching their children participate.

The list of Top All Tournament Scorers is documentation of the value of this tournament as it provides an opportunity for young players to improve their skills and learn the importance of being a member of a team. Many of the people on that list have gone on to be top players at the high school level and some of them to play at the college level. Many of these alumni of the tournament are community leaders and volunteers that are a vital part of our communities today. The Ken Baker Basketball Tournament has more than achieved its original goals and everyone is invited to come and support our youth and dedicated volunteers and school personnel as the 40th year goes down in the long and proud history books. Ken Baker would like the community to know that, “I am am grateful and somewhat surprised that our little tournament has survived and thrived for all these 40 years. It is such a great experience for these young athletes. Memories and bonds are made that last a lifetime. I thank all the good people of Round Valley for continuing this tradition.” Thank you Ken Baker for your wisdom and dedication in establishing this incredible tournament that proudly bears your name.

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Bishop Bronco Wrestling

Submitted by assistant coach Dr. Mark Hodges

Last Saturday, (December 5th) three members of the Bishop Bronco Wrestling team competed in their first tournament of the year at Rim of the World High School. The Broncos attending were
Junior Joseph Mayhugh at 160 lbs
Junior Victor Esquivel at 170 lbs
Freshman Mark Mayhugh at 106 lbs
Freshman Mark Mayhugh, in his first wrestling match ever, started on fire by pinning his opponent after scoring 10 unanswered points. His next match was against a senior wrestler who is ranked #22 in California. Not intimidated, Mark made the first takedown attempt, but unfortunately was quickly pinned. Mark turned things around in his next two matches by winning with pins, placing him in the match for 3rd place. He started the match strong and was leading going into the last period, but lost a hard-fought match on points, finishing in 4th place.
Junior Joseph Mayhugh started the day strong by defeating his first opponent in a 6-4 decision, but lost his next 2 matches.
Junior Victor Esquivel struggled and finished the day going 0-2.

Coach Joseph said, “The level of competition at this tournament was just right for us – our wrestlers had opportunities to score in almost every match. Although we did ok overall, there are several things that we need to work on this week. We were especially pleased to see Mark Mayhugh do well in his first wrestling matches.”

The Bronco with the best record this season is Mark Mayhugh with a record of 3-2 with all 3 wins by pin.

Next Saturday, the wrestling team will be competing in a tournament at Lancaster High School.